iChristmas
by pickaxe881978
Summary: Just Freddie and Sam Christmas one shot. Hope you enjoy!


iChristmas

Closing the door as the last of the house guest finally left, Freddie returned to the kitchen to help Sam finish cleaning up. As he stepped through the kitchen door, Freddie glanced over to the table and was relieved to see that all of the dishes had been removed, and the only thing left on the table was the red and green tablecloth and cloth napkins. Freddie gathered everything up in the tablecloth, strode through the kitchen and into the laundry room to put them into the washer.

"Hey babe, do you have anything else for me to wash," Freddie asked, poking his head into the kitchen. Sam looked around, "Nope, nothing left, but these last few dishes," Sam said, placing the last of their dinner dishes in the sink. Giving Sam a thumbs up, Freddie stepped back to the washer and dumped the detergent in. Setting the dials, Freddie closed the lid, and once he heard everything kick in, Freddie returned to the kitchen just as Sam finished the dishes. "You ready to head to bed," Freddie asked, as he moved behind Sam and wrapped his arms around her. The moment Sam felt Freddie's arms embrace her, she closed her eyes and melted into his embrace.

Standing there, lost in the moment, Sam was more than tempted to give Freddie his special Christmas present early; however, they were both exhausted from the dinner party, and they both had to work tomorrow. "Holy chiz am I," Sam said, stifling a yawn which earned a chuckle from her husband, which garnered Freddie a swift fist to the shoulder. "Ow," Freddie said, rubbing his shoulder from Sam's admittedly softer than typical strike. "Come on, let's head upstairs," Freddie said, taking Sam's hand and pulling her out of the kitchen with him. Sam allowed Freddie to lead her upstairs and into their bedroom, where they fell asleep a few hours later.

The next morning when Freddie's alarm went off, he opened his eyes and was surprised to see that Sam was not in bed. Sitting up, Freddie glanced around the bedroom but did not see Sam, "Sam, are you in here," he called. Receiving no response, Freddie got out of bed, threw on his robe, and made his way downstairs. "Sam," Freddie called, stepping off the final step and into the living room. As he stood there, Freddie could hear nothing that indicated that Sam was even home, no clanking of dishes, no television or music, nothing, the house was absolutely silent. Just as Freddie was about to return to the bedroom to get ready for work, he found a note that Sam had left for him. "Had to run into the office early for an emergency. I should be home early today though, love you nub."

While the note from Sam did confirm exactly what Freddie had thought, he was still surprised that Sam hadn't woken him before she left. Freddie decided that he would ask her about it tonight when he got home from work as it was more curiosity rather than worry that Freddie currently felt. Returning to the bedroom, Freddie completed his regular morning routine and was heading out the door for his office at 7:45 AM.

Freddie had been in his office for a couple of minutes when his manager Will knocked on the door. A friendly smile show on Will's face as he stepped through the open door, "Will," Freddie said with an equally warm smile, "to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit," he asked, walking around his desk, hand outstretched. Will took Freddie's outstretched hand, "actually I need to speak with you about something important, do you have a few minutes?" Freddie nodded, "of course, please have a seat," he said, reaching around Will to close his office door. Returning to his chair, Freddie sat down, "so what did you need to talk to me about," he asked, thoroughly curious as to what the topic of conversation would be.

"Before I get into anything, nothing that I am about to tell you is public knowledge, and very few people outside of Bob, HR, and I know about it, understood?" Will's statement certainly piqued Freddie's interest, but Freddie knew that this must be huge if they were keeping so close to the vest, "I understand," he replied. Will repositioned himself in the chair, "now that we have that out of the way, Bob approached us about needing to spend more time with Marie and the kids," Will paused a moment, "Marie was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer, and Bob feels that he needs to be there to take care of her and their boys." Freddie couldn't believe it, Bob had been a good friend as well as a great boss, he would undoubtedly be missed.

"Officially, Bob will still be working for the company in a reduced capacity, but unofficially he is leaving the company. This way, if Bob ever wants to come back, he can, but I don't see that happening." Freddie tended to agree with Will, Bob was only a few years from retirement anyway, so barring any significant need on his part, Bob would not be back. "Now, since Bob is leaving, I have been asked to replace him, and since I have accepted the position, I will need someone to take over for me, which is where you come in, Freddie." Freddie was beside himself, he and Sam had been talking about possibly starting a family, and while Freddie's current position paid well, every little bit helps, especially if Sam decided she didn't want to return to work.

"I believe that you would be the right person to take over for me, everyone already knows you, and they think very highly of you. So what do you say?" The grin on Freddie's face told Will everything, "I'm taking it as you are interested." "Oh, yes, I am very much interested. Thank you so much, Will. I can't wait to tell Sam about this." The look on Will's face changed the instant Freddie mentioned telling Sam, "Uhhh, you're going to have to hold off on telling Sam. It's going to take about three weeks for HR to process everything, but they should have everything taken care of before Christmas." Freddie nodded, "understood," he said once again, extending his hand to Will, "thank you again, Will. I'll do my best." Now it was Will's turn to grin, "I know you will, Freddie. Well, I think I've taken up enough of your time, I'll let you get to work," he said, turning to exit Freddie's office.

The rest of the day, Freddie found it harder to concentrate given his earlier conversation with Will, but he managed to make it through without spilling the beans to anyone else. The real concern for Freddie now was how to keep Sam in the dark about this for the next few weeks, after all, Freddie was terrible at keeping secrets from her. Sam just seemed to have this uncanny ability to find out things that she wasn't supposed to know, especially when it came to gifts, and since Freddie was going to treat this as an extra present for, Sam he would have to do his best to keep it secret until Christmas. Freddie was grinning like a fool all the way home, not just because of the promotion, but also the thought of finally being able to start a family with Sam.

When Freddie arrived home, Sam's car was already parked in its regular spot, "that's right, Sam's note did say she would be home early tonight," Freddie thought to himself. Sam, for her part, was in their bedroom, looking at herself in the floor-length mirror. Sam had one hand on her still flat belly and was trying to picture herself with a baby bump, which, as it just so happens, would be happening sooner rather than later. Although she and Freddie both wanted children, and they had spoken about it at length over the last few months, there was still a niggling doubt in her mind that Freddie would not be happy since her getting pregnant was sooner than either thought. There was only one way to find out, and that would be to tell him, Sam just hoped that telling him on Christmas would make it easier.

Over the next few weeks, both Sam and Freddie had multiple close calls and almost spilled the beans about their own respective secrets. Sam, for example, had to come up with a cover story for her morning sickness, and there were a few times that Sam thought her cover might have been blown. Freddie also had his share of close calls, for instance, the week before Christmas, Freddie's promotion was made official, and he was finally free to tell Sam about it, but Freddie had come up with a plan to tell Sam, and then segway the conversation to kids again. Freddie had known, basically, since he and Sam had begun dating, that she was the one he wanted a family with, and now Freddie felt genuinely ready.

Christmas day at the Benson house was going to be both busy and exciting, to say the least. Both Freddie and Sam had their surprises for each other ready to go, and Sam and Freddie were both planning on presenting them after Marissa left, after all, they could tell Marissa later. The day started early for Sam, who insisted on cooking, and Freddie knew that Sam was the better cook between them. Freddie had also started shortly after Sam; however, in his case, he was cleaning because the last thing he wanted was to hear his mother complain the entire time. Sam was just putting the finishing touches on the food when the first their guests arrived.

Opening the door, Freddie came face to face with Spencer and Sasha Shay, "welcome, please come in," Freddie said, stepping to the side to allow the Shay's to enter. "Thank you," Spencer responded, placing his hand on Sasha's lower back and letting her inside the house first. Closing the door, Freddie turned to face their guests, "may I take your coats," he asked, waiting for the pair to get their coats off. "Sam! Spencer and Sasha are here," Freddie called out as he made his way upstairs to one of the extra bedrooms. Sam stepped out of the kitchen with the ham on a platter, "Hey Sasha, hey Spence," she said, stepping out the kitchen to check something on the dining room table. Sam turned around and hugged her good friend and her practically adoptive brother, "how are you guys doing?"

"We are doing good," Spencer responded, "Oh, before I forget, Carly wanted me to tell you Merry Christmas, and that once again she's sorry about not being able to make it." Sam rolled her eyes, "I already told Carls that it was okay and that we would save their gifts until they arrive, besides it's not as if she had any control over the plane breaking down." "Did Carly ask you to apologize to Sam and I again," Freddie asked, as he stepped off the final step. "Yes," Sam answered, "sometimes I wonder about her," Sam said, half-seriously. "The food smells wonderful," Sasha said as she and Spencer sat down, "yeah, I can't wait to dig in," Spencer added. This time Freddie spoke up, "we'll we're just waiting for my mother to get here so we can eat." As if on cue, there was a knock at the door, followed by Marissa's voice, "Freddie, it's mother," she yelled through the door. The four friends all rolled their eyes, thankful that Marissa was still outside and unable to see the amused visages on their faces.

Freddie walked over to the door and let Marissa in, "hello mother," Freddie said as he opened the door. While Freddie did love his mother, there had been many times, especially recently, that she had gotten on her son's last nerve. Freddie took Marissa's coat and took it upstairs with the others. As soon as Sam saw Freddie heading back down the stairs, she turned to their gathered guests, "well, now that everyone is here, shall we sit down to eat?" While Spencer, Sasha, and Marissa took their seats, Sam and Freddie went into the kitchen and began bringing food out to the table. After everything was brought out, Sam and Freddie took their seats as well, "don't be shy, pick a dish and then pass it to your right," Sam said, picking up the ham and placing several pieces on her plate.

The rest of the dinner went by with a minimum of issues, and once everyone was full, they all headed to the living room to exchange gifts. Sam was excited, not necessarily for opening presents from the people gathered around her, but more for later when she would give Freddie his "special" gift. Freddie, who was sitting in the recliner directly across from, Sam was feeling the same way about her "special" gift. Since Carly would be arriving tomorrow morning, Freddie, Sam, Spencer, and Sasha decided to hold some of their presents back so they would have some to open with Carly. Marissa was the only one in the group to unwrap all of hers, as she would not be attending due to her work schedule.

After saying goodbye to everyone, Freddie and Sam returned to the living room to relax. After several minutes of silence, Sam sat up in her chair, "now that everyone is gone, I have one last gift for you," she said, standing up and removing something from her purse. Freddie grinned, "well isn't that something, I just happen to have one more for you as well," he said, retrieving the gift from his home office. Upon returning to the living room, Freddie couldn't help but be curious as to what Sam's last gift was. He had already gotten everything he had asked for, so Freddie was uncertain what she would have gotten him.

As Freddie returned to the living room, he noticed that Sam was all smiles, which piqued Freddie's interest further. "So who goes first," Freddie asked as he eyed what looked to be a piece of paper in Sam's hand. Sam thought for a moment, she wanted to go first, but if Freddie reacted the way she thought he would, then it might be better for him to go first. "You," Sam said, wondering what Freddie had in store for her. Freddie handed Sam the envelope that he had retrieved from the office. Opening the envelope, Sam pulled out a congratulations card, which confused her. Freddie noticed her confusion, "open it," he said softly with a smile on his face.

As she opened the card, Sam saw one of Freddie's business cards inside, "uh Freddie, I already have one of your business cards," Sam said, her smile disappearing. Sam's reaction was precisely what Freddie thought it would be and was hoping for, "read the card," he nudged. Sam focused her eyes on the section of the card where Freddie's name was situated and read over it. It took three times before she noticed the new title on it, "holy chiz, you got a promotion," she said excitedly, before wrapping him in a bear hug. A few moments later, they separated, and now it was Freddie's turn to open his last present. Sam was suddenly nervous, while Freddie's promotion was undoubtedly a boon, Sam was still concerned about Freddie's reaction.

Sam handed her envelope to Freddie, butterflies heavy in her stomach. Opening the envelope, Freddie pulled out a 3x5 black and white photo. Freddie looked at the image, "what's this," he asked, not sure what he was looking at. Just as the question left his lips, the realization sunk in, "is this, are you," he stammered a few moments before going silent. Freddie's face went blank, which caused Sam to rethink everything about the baby growing inside her. She had hoped that Freddie would be happy, but what she saw on his face looked anything but happy. "Freddie," Sam said slowly, "are you alright," Sam asked cautiously, her stomach dropping in fear. Freddie's face stayed unchanged, pushing Sam deeper into uncertainty, "Freddie," she said again, her voice cracking slightly. Sam was becoming uncharacteristically frightened now, had she completely misjudged how Freddie would react?

After what seemed like an hour but had really only been five minutes, Sam noticed tears forming in Freddie's eyes. His eyes had been moving between the ultrasound image and Sam's face. Holding the picture up, "are you really, are we going to have a baby," Freddie asked, his face still void of expression. Sam said nothing for several moments, "yes Freddie, we are having a baby," she said, breaking eye contact with her husband, "I thought you'd, well, I hoped you'd be happy, even if the timing was off." Freddie stepped closer to Sam, raised her head, and captured her lips in a passionate kiss. Mere seconds passed, and Sam melted into Freddie's arms as the kiss continued until they both needed oxygen. "I take it you are happy with my surprise," Sam said breathlessly, still being embraced by Freddie. An ear to ear smile graced Freddie's face, "oh yes," he said, placing a hand on Sam's currently flat stomach, "I want a family with you, and it doesn't matter if the timing isn't what we initially thought," he said, kissing her once more before his grin returned in full force.

Sam was smiling now, relieved that Freddie was indeed overjoyed by her news. They both stood there, grinning like idiots when Freddie began to ask questions about the pregnancy, everything from how far along she was right now to when she found out to what her due date was, et Cetra. Sam placed her pointer finger on Freddie's lips to get him to stop speaking, "I will answer your questions," she said stifling a yawn, "but it's been a long day, why don't we head up to bed."


End file.
